What Schools Should Be Teaching To Prepare For Adult Life

Being an adult is no easy thing. You spend most of the time winging it, like when you’re a child, just without as many people available for you to ask. Yes you do get better at things (hopefully) like working, paying bills, owning more than what fits into your bedroom, cooking. But what is a horrible shock to most kids as they realise they have to adult, is the number of things that you weren’t taught at school that you really need, and the amount you never touch again.

The old argument of ‘who needs algebra anyway is perfectly true for most people, there are some who use it, but for the most part, that was valuable time that could have been spent on something else. Something that we probably would have complained about at the time, but would be eternally grateful for as a grown up.

How to buy a house

Buying a house isn’t as simple as looking at it, liking it, and handing over some cash. You need a mortgage for starters – something that you can learn more about here, and that most children are aware of. But they don’t know how to go about getting one. Nor do most teens know that they need a solicitor for the buying process, the fact that they need a decent sized deposit, nor that they could fall into some horrible pitfalls of buying new builds – like the fact that the small print can state that they are buying the house but not the land it sits on.

How to write a CV and cover letter

Growing up, your CV is likely one side of A4 with your education and hobbies on, given out the hope that someone will give you a chance. But without help on how to write a good CV, accompanied by a convincing cover letter, that chance is even smaller. Not everyone has parents who are perfectly skilled at creating CVs, if only because they have been in their chosen career for a while and so are rusty. And a simple Google search does come up with a mix of UK CVs and US resumes – and the difference is noticeable and could affect your chances. When it comes to a cover letter, something many teens haven’t heard of, most kids don’t even know how to write a letter anymore.

Taxes

Everyone has to learn how to manage their finances. However, unlike America, most people in the UK don’t have to think about doing their own taxes, as it is taken out before the wage hits your bank account. But they do need to know how much they are supposed to be taxed as well as what the different types of taxes are for. If you end up owning a business or working as a freelancer, you do need to know how to do your own taxes – and it’s not an easy thing to keep track of. So having a few lessons in it at school would definitely be helpful.

Applying for university

With over half of UK students going to University, a record high, it would make sense for schools to put a bit more time into the application process. A study showed that most Sixth Form schools don’t help students with their personal statements, but do offer advice if one comes to them with a question. Where it is a lot more common for Btec students in colleges to have dedicated lessons to help them write the best statement they can. With the number of students getting into uni, is it a huge thing that schools should be working on, or Is the system fine as it is? Let me know your opinion in the comments!